The microbial and chemical desulfurization of fossil fuels has been an area of active investigation for over fifty years. The object of these investigations has been to develop chemical and biotechnology based methods for the pre-combustion removal of sulfur from fossil fuels, such as coal, crude oil and petroleum distillates. The driving forces for the development of desulfurization methods are the increasing levels of sulfur in fossil fuel and the increasingly stringent regulation of sulfur emissions. Monticello et al., "Practical Considerations in Biodesulfurization of Petroleum," IGT's 3d Intl. Symp. on Gas, Oil, Coal and Env. Biotech., (Dec. 3-5, 1990) New Orleans, La.
Many biocatalysts and processes have been developed to desulfurize fossil fuels, including those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,356,801, 5,358,870, 5,358,813, 5,198,341, 5,132,219, 5,344,778, 5,104,801 and 5,002,888, incorporated herein by reference. Economic analyses indicate that one limitation in the commercialization of the technology is improving the reaction rates and specific activities of the biocatalysts, such as the bacteria and enzymes that are involved in the desulfurization reactions. The reaction rates and specific activities (sulfur removed/hour/gram of biocatalyst) that have been reported in the literature are much lower than those necessary for optimal commercial technology.
Among the intermediates in the biodesulfurization of fossil fuels are organosulfinate compounds. Removal of the sulfinate group from such compounds can be accomplished enzymatically. However, known chemical, or nonenzymatic, methods for desulfurizing organosulfinates require extreme conditions, such as fused salt media and high reaction temperatures, and typically result in low yields of desulfurized products.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods for desulfurizing organosulfinate compounds.